Infants are immersed in a world of sounds from the moment their auditory system becomes functional, and experience with the auditory world shapes how their brain processes sounds in their environment. Across cultures, speech and music are two dominant auditory signals in infants' daily lives. Decades of research have repeatedly shown that both…

The purpose of this article is to examine and expand on how assessment is facilitated by providing three sport specific examples embedded within the curriculums of Tactical Games Model, Sport Education and Play Practice, for how assessment can be thought about, structured, and enacted alongside each sport's developmentally appropriate guidelines.

In early childhood education, the integration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) are advocated as contemporary educational goals. However, integration of STEAM is not defined in the early childhood context. We claim to 'integrate' and 'devise integration pedagogies', but there is still no clear-cut message on what…

Research focusing on the home mathematics environment has shown mixed results across age groups. Using data from a large online survey, we explored parents' perceptions of the age appropriateness of home mathematics activities for their children. Children's ages ranged from one to 6 years old (N = 958). Activities spanned multiple domains of early…

Many K-12 computer science (CS) education initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels have recently started to focus on engaging the young children. Although most CS education research has focused on the secondary level, only minimal research has explored how computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) can be taught in elementary…

We propose the Critical Diversity Literacy (CDL) framework for citizenship education in contemporary heterogeneous societies. It encourages an anti-essentialist, power-conscious awareness of difference beyond notions of citizenship that have been constitutive of the nation and tend to normalise masculinity, patriarchy, heterosexuality,…

This essay entails a critical review of the origins, discourses and contemporary manifestations of NAEYC's enduring commitment to 'developmentally appropriate practice' (DAP); and proposes a reconceptualisation of DAP as an open question and incentive for place-based collaborative inquiry. Brief discussion of ECE's early history highlights…

A large body of research literature suggests that quality formative assessment has the potential to promote positive outcomes for young children. This paper posits that early childhood educators learn how to use developmentally appropriate assessment practices to effectively assess young children and use these data to make decisions that matter…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore preschool teachers' beliefs and practices on developmentally appropriate practices. The study sites are a mix of public and private preschools that are located in Gondar City, Ethiopia. From these study sites, six participants were purposively selected. Date data were collected through in-depth…

Professional development is an important tool for supporting early childhood teachers in implementing developmentally appropriate practices and child-guided instruction in the classroom. This phenomenological study explored five U.S. novice early childhood education teachers' experiences with professional development. Specifically, we explored how…

"Effective Practices in Early Childhood Education" is designed to empower a new generation of teachers who can make a difference in children's lives. It covers both how to teach, and what to teach, young children from birth through age 8. An entire chapter introduces developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) for early childhood…

Situated within the theoretical framework of reflective practice, this phenomenological study investigated how early childhood teachers reflected on the ways in which they were able or unable to engage in developmentally appropriate practices during the first four months of the 2020-2021 school year in the context of COVID-19-induced remote…

This study examined how and to what extent a prekindergarten teacher's perceptions of ready children and diversity--which are influenced by broader societal culture--influence their abilities and ways of incorporating children's funds of knowledge into their practice. The methodology used was based on a descriptive case study of a teacher, Linda,…

The NAEYC DAP position statement and book are widely used as guides for implementing equitable early learning in settings serving children birth through age 8. Building on the spirit of Sankofa, which in translation from the Akan expresses, 'It is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot,' this article documents the revision process for the…

The adult-centric concept of 'age-appropriateness' is an arbitrary signifier and yet it commands a powerful common-sense appeal in governing the shape of sexuality education. The visibility of LGBTQ+ lives in primary schools is deeply impacted by the cis-heteronormative ways in which age-appropriateness is commonly understood and mobilised; very…